Ship comes in for benefit fraudster

Enfield Council’s Counter Fraud Team celebrated success this week as another benefit cheat was sent to jail for falsely claiming money they were not entitled to.

Ms Bibi Shipkolye, of Keats Close, Enfield, was sentenced to eight weeks imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to five charges of benefit fraud at Wood Green Crown Court on 22 August 2012.

Ms Shipkolye first applied to Enfield Council for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit in 2007.

At this time, she claimed that she had one bank account with a balance of £100, she had also successfully claimed Income Support from the Department for Work and Pensions.

However, suspicion later fell on Ms Shipkolye when Enfield Council’s Counter Fraud Team heard that she had a significant amount of savings in an undeclared bank account with Barclays.

Bank statements obtained by the Council established that when Ms. Shipkolye completed and submitted her first application for benefit in January 2007, she actually had £38,000 in the bank, as opposed to the £100 declared.

Ms Shipkolye was formally interviewed by investigators, following which it was calculated that between 2007 and 2011 she had fraudulently claimed and received £48,807.03 in Housing Benefit, £1,686.69 in Council Tax Benefit, and £10,770.55 in Income Support.

Cllr Andrew Stafford, Cabinet Member for Finance and Property said “People who commit benefit fraud steal from the poorest people in the borough, and with our dedicated fraud teams they will be caught..

“It is a shameful crime, and Enfield Council will have no hesitation in prosecuting anyone who thinks they can get away with it. This sentence sends out a clear message that if you commit benefit fraud you will be punished severely."